By Yao Xueqing, Peoples Daily
A video of a food deliveryman studying by the street under a street lamp in Nanning,
southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region went viral in March,
impressing many.
"I was preparing for an examination for Associate Constructor’s Certification as I had
15 minutes before the caterer handed me the food," said Qin Liubei, the deliveryman
in the video, who comes from Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, Guangxi.
Qin graduated from a vocational school three years ago, but hit a wall on the job
market because of his plain professional skills. Therefore, he decided to take this job
first but keep on learning skills.
He told People's Daily that his family always encouraged him to keep studying, and
he didn't want to let them down.
At present, there are over 7 million people working for Meituan Dianping and Ele.me,
two major online food delivery platforms in China, and many of them come from
rural areas.
The flexible working hours is a major reason for many to become food deliverymen.
Statistics indicated that 59 percent of the deliverymen on Meituan Dianping work less
than four hours each day, and 56 percent have other jobs, 26 percent of whom run
small businesses. While delivering food to gain extra money, they are also striving to
pursue their life dreams.
However, for some other deliverymen, delivering food is a career.
Liu Houxiang, a 42-year-old deliveryman working for Ele.me in Nanjing, east China's
Jiangsu province, set a record on the platform by delivering 6,465 late night orders in
seven months.
"I have done the job for five years and gained some experience," said Liu, sharing his
experience that it's better to take the orders with similar destinations and manage the
schedule according to the time when meals are prepared.
Liu usually drives a motorcycle to deliver meals from 10 p.m. to the wee hours, when
Nanjing is in its quietest time. Every day he takes orders placed by people off their
night shift in the late night, Liu said, adding that they are just like old friends to him.
In February, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the State
Administration for Market Regulation and the National Bureau of Statistics issued
new professions and included food delivery as a professional job under the protection
and regulation of national occupational classification system.
Besides, cities and platforms in China have also taken measures to regulate and
protect the work of food delivery.
Beijing established an alliance for food deliverymen and couriers, and Xiamen, in
southeast China's Fujian province, introduced policies concerning the labor relations
of food delivery service providers.
Online platforms have not only rolled out courses to help practitioners improve their
professional skills and provide guidance on their career development, but also offered
assistance for those from poor households.
Meituan Dianping plans to add 50,000 delivery jobs in poverty-stricken counties this
year and offer them interest-free loans, said Xu Chen, head of the company's branch
in east China's Jiangxi province.
As an important part of the Internet+ service, millions of deliverymen are gradually
becoming a bond connecting people and satisfying daily demands. What their delivery
boxes carry are not only people's pursuit for and expectation of a more convenient
lifestyle, but also their dream for a better life.
